About

About the Art

At The Curious Octopus, my clothing is made from 100% recycled material. These are materials that would otherwise be sent to a landfill, where it take hundreds of years to break down.

Each piece of material is chosen for quality, texture, and color palette. The textures and colors are then pieced together to create eye-catching, wearable art.

In addition to recycled materials, our hats are lined with baby blanket fleece. This material adds a luxuriously soft touch to the unique design of each hat. Our hoodies and coats have pockets lined with fleece for comfort and stability.

Commissions are always open through the contact form found under the “contact” tab.

About the Artist

My name is Nicole Hayes and I am the artist behind The Curious Octopus.

I learned to sew from my great-grandmother, who was an immigrant from the former Yugoslavia. I honed my skills through costume design and construction for cosplay competitions, where I learned to draft patterns and the ins and outs of effective sewing. In 2013, I decided to start drafting my own patterns and building a business out of them.

In the years since starting The Curious Octopus, I have grown my business successfully through online sales at my Etsy shop and in-person sales at anime conventions across the continent. I truly love what I do and I’m so happy to have become a staple vendor for so many conventions as I spread my wearable art throughout North America.

All of my clothing is made from recycled materials and hand-crafted into wearable art. No two pieces are identical by the very nature of using recycled materials. I do not find the same materials twice, so each piece cannot be replicated. I love bringing these one-of-a-kind pieces to life. I hope you enjoy looking over my gallery and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.